MULTIDIMENSIONAL RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Author(s):  
Marta R. Ariza ◽  
Antonio Quesada ◽  
Ana María Abril ◽  
Pilar Rodríguez
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quazi K. Hassan ◽  
Khan R. Rahaman ◽  
Kazi Z. Sumon ◽  
Ashraf Dewan

Open educational resources (OER) have become increasingly popular in recent times. Here, the aim was to synthesise the lessons learned through the development of OER materials for a university-level course called “environmental modelling”. Consequently, the topics of discussion included: (i) how to choose an appropriate creative commons license; (ii) ways of incorporating materials from other sources, such as publicly available sources, other open access materials, and an author’s own published materials if not published under a creative commons license; (iii) the impact of the developed OER in the field of environmental modelling; and (iv) the challenges in developing OER material. Upon developing the materials, we observed the following: (i) students enrolled in the course did not purchase textbooks; (ii) our OER materials ranked as one of the most accessed (i.e., number 7) materials according to the usage data that summed the number of file downloads and item views from PRISM (i.e., the hosting platform maintained by the University of Calgary); (iii) the students learned relatively better as per the data acquired by the University of Calgary’s universal student ratings of instruction (USRI) instrument; and (iv) other universities expressed interest in adopting the materials.


Author(s):  
Huimei Delgado ◽  
Michael Delgado ◽  
John Hilton III

Open educational resources (OER), which are free and openly licensed educational materials, have been a widely discussed topic in response to high textbook costs, the need for more pedagogical flexibility, and inequality in access to educational materials. In this study we examine the efficacy of OER through a quantitative analysis of the impact of OER on student final exam performance in a large calculus course. Our dataset affords us a relatively large sample size, allows us to classify students in both treatment and control groups, and includes a variety of covariates that allow us to control for multiple correlated factors. We estimate causal treatment effects using several econometric approaches. Our study adds the following insights into the research on OER efficacy: (i) OER materials do not, in general, lead to any significant change in student final exam performance; and (ii) OER materials have a significantly positive impact on both international students and Pell Grant eligible students.


Author(s):  
Sonia Valladares Rodriguez ◽  
Roberto Rodriguez Perez ◽  
Manuel J. Fernandez Iglesias ◽  
Luis Anido Rifon ◽  
Martin Llamas Nistal ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1022-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Ahammad

Purpose This paper aims to explain the implementation procedure of DSpace at the Library of Independent University, Bangladesh. This paper shows how DSpace is promoting open educational resources (OER) movement and demonstrates the ease of implementing DSpace in an institution. Moreover, the purpose of this paper is to encourage library professionals to participate in the OER movement by implementing DSpace in their libraries. Design/methodology/approach The requirements for implementing DSpace have been shown in this paper. It also describes the system model of an academic repository (DSpace)/digital library (DL). In addition, the paper describes the legal issues for submitting an item in DSpace and self-submission process of an item as well as shows impact of DSpace on OER. Findings Open source software and Open Access Institutional Repository software has a fundamental role in promoting OER. DSpace is perfect for building a DL or an institutional repository in libraries, especially for developing country libraries because this demands low cost and it is easy to implement in libraries as well as is user-friendly. Originality/value This paper will help to understand the role of the library community and librarians about OER. It will also show the impact of DL on OER. In addition, this paper encourages librarians to participate in OER movement.


2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Farrow ◽  
Beatriz de los Arcos ◽  
Rebecca Pitt ◽  
Martin Weller

Abstract Open educational resources (OER) have been identified as having the potential to extend opportunities for learning to non-formal learners. However, little research has been conducted into the impact of OER on non-formal learners. This paper presents the results of a systematic survey of more than 3,000 users of open educational resources (OER). Data was collected between 2013 and 2014 on the demographics, attitudes and behaviours of users of three repositories. Questions included a particular focus on the behaviours of non-formal learners and the relationship between formal and non-formal study. Frequency analysis shows that there are marked differences in patterns of use, user profiles, attitudes towards OER, types of materials used and popularity of different subjects. The experience of using OER is fairly consistent across platforms in terms of satisfaction and impact on future behaviour. On the whole, non-formal learners surveyed were highly positive about their use of OER and believe they will continue to use them. With regards to this making formal study more likely some degree of polarization was observed: some believed formal study was now more likely, while others felt it made this less likely. On the whole, while non-formal learners are enthusiastic about using free and online resources, the language and concept of OER does not seem to be well understood in the groups surveyed. A range of findings relating to OER selection and use as well as differences between repositories are explored in the discussion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Wilfried Admiraal

With Open Educational Resources (OER) teachers have free access to high-quality educational resources and open licenses to prepare, enhance, or supplement their teaching practice. Yet adoption rates are understood to be low and teachers face many challenges when they want to use OER. In a survey study, 1819 educators from various educational sectors reported their use of OER, the types of OER they used, the purposes of the OER used, the challenges they face and the impact they see. Most teachers adapt OER to fit their own needs and considerably less teachers create, publish or add OER. The main challenges relate to finding resources that are relevant, up-to-date and of good quality, time issues and – to a lesser extent- acceptance at the workplace and institutional support. A typology of OER users has been developed with five types of OER users. Implications for practice for each type of educators are formulated.


Author(s):  
Muhua Zhang ◽  
Yan Li

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of online teaching experience on faculty members’ perceptions about attributes of OER. Rogers’ (2003) attributes of innovation theory was adopted as the theoretical base in this study. And questionnaire survey was carried out at Zhejiang University (ZJU) in China. 360 faculty members from ZJU were randomly invited to complete a questionnaire. The results of data analysis found that (1) only small portion of surveyed faculty members had online teaching experience while there was large portions of participants indicated that they would be willing to share their educational resources on the ZJU website or on outside websites; (2) the majority of the participants tended to agree that there is a relative advantage and compatibility of OER, though they were more neutral regarding the complexity, trialability and observability of OER; (3) online teaching experiences significantly impacted faculty members’ perceived trialability and observability of OER. Based on the finding, the study suggested that universities may carry out more initiatives efforts to increase faculty members’ online teaching experience and to improve faculty members’ perceived attributes of OER.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
Elena Krelja Kurelović

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the open access culture and its impact on the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). There are many examples of using the term “open access culture”, but without giving an explicit description of it. The aim of this research is to offer conceptualization of the open access culture, identify its main components, and determine the impact of this variable on the intention to use and the actual use of Open Educational Resources by the members of public higher education institutions in Croatia. The sample consisted of 427 respondents. Keeping in mind that culture has a significant impact on the behaviour of an individual, but it also manifests itself through this behaviour, the research model will be proposed. The variable “open access culture” will be observed on a personal, professional and organizational level and it will include attitudes, perception, norms and politics towards open access to scientific and educational content and knowledge sharing. For the purpose of this study a questionnaire was prepared. Each part of the variable “open access culture”, as well as the intention to use and the actual use of OER, has been tested using a set of statements with answers on a 5-degree Likert type scale. The respondents have expressed a moderate open access culture. The actual use of OER, as well as the intention to use OER, is also in the middle of measurement scale. In order to achieve the aim of this research, three main hypotheses have been proposed. The results of multiple regression analysis show that the proposed model with predictor variable “open access culture” has a significant prognostic value on the intention to use and the actual use of OER, with a stronger influence on the intention to use OER. Considering the individual influence of the components of the predictor variable, the open access culture at professional level has the strongest influence on the intention to use and the actual use of OER.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Peter DeCarlo ◽  
Susan Schoppelrey ◽  
Courtney Crenshaw ◽  
Mary C. Secret ◽  
Melissa Stewart

Researchers conducted a dual-site pilot experiment evaluating the impact of an open textbook on graduate social work students in research methods courses. Students using the commercial and open textbook demonstrated equivalent final grades and test scores. The open resource was more likely to be used on a weekly basis by students and was described as straightforward and easy to access. Among students who extensively used the open textbook, it was associated with improved attitudes towards research methods. The impact of open textbooks on student use, perceptions, and access varied by hybrid and in-person course format. These results validate the work of social work educators creating, sharing, and implementing open educational resources as way to address the barriers to access and engagement with social work knowledge.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer N Engler ◽  
Randi Shedlosky-Shoemaker

Open Educational Resources (OER) remove barriers to access instructional material. In light of their increased availability and use, a body of research has emerged to examine the impact of OER on college student success. While many of these studies have broadly examined efficacy across a variety of disciplines, the current study specifically examined the impact of the type of textbook (commercial vs. OER) on course content mastery within an undergraduate sample of introductory psychology students ( N = 63) while controlling for instructor and student differences. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in content mastery between those students in introductory psychology courses who were assigned a traditional commercial textbook and those who were assigned an OER textbook. These results support that OER can be equally effective as traditional, commercial textbooks and have implications for course material selections that help ensure access for all students.


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